In 1903, the Canadian Amateur Hockey League played its fifth season, having replaced the AHAC as the premier hockey league in 1899. This was created following a conflict within the AHAC, leading for the first Hockey Schism.
The CAHL was started by the top division teams from the AHAC, . The Montreal Hockey Club, Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Victorias, Quebec Hockey Club, and the Ottawa Hockey Club participated in a balanced, round-robin league schedule.
The fifth season played in 1903 (played from January 3 to February 28) saw The Ottawa Hockey Club (also known as the Silver Seven) win the Championship. following a two game, total-goals play off with the Montreal Victorias.
1903 was the eleventh year that the Dominion Challenge Cup was awarded. The Montreal Hockey Club (1902’s CAHL champion) issued a cup challenge against the Winnipeg Victorias of the Manitoba Hockey Association, and successfully defeated them in a best of three challenge series. It was during 1903 regular season play that the Montreal Hockey Club was usurped by the Ottawa Hockey Club who became the new Cup champions.
| IceHockeyLeagues.com Premier-League Championship Points span to 1883-1903 | ||
| Team | # of Championships | Premier Championship Points |
| Montreal Hockey Club | 10 (1885-86, 88-94, 1902) | 34 |
| Montreal Victorias | 5 (1884, 95-98) | 20 |
| Montreal Shamrocks | 2 (1899-1900) | 8 |
| Ottawa Hockey Club | 2 (1901, 03) | 8 (+4) |
| Montreal Crystals | 1 (1887) | 4 |
| McGill University | 1 (1883) | 2 |
The CAHL was the second premier Ice Hockey league, formed by four Quebec-based teams plus Ottawa. These five teams all played in the MWC Tournament and AHAC so that tournament and league are the direct predecessors to the CAHL for historical and statistical purposes.
- Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, 1905 - December 17, 2017
- Canadian Amateur Hockey League, 1905 - December 16, 2017
- Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, 1904 - December 10, 2017
